Kindergartners without masks play on the campus of Chonnam National University in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 3, 2022, two days ahead of Children’s Day. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 5 (Korea Bizwire) — As South Korea celebrates the centennial anniversary of Children’s Day, heightening concerns allude to stricter standards that are being forced upon children in the cultural sphere, including movie theaters and concert halls.
Parents complain that it is too much to disallow children from making noise at movie theaters, especially when watching films for kids.
“It is quite difficult for me to bring my children to theaters since they want my children to strictly follow their rules,” said Yoon Hyeon-soo, the 40-year-old parent of an elementary school child.
“While parents need to teach their kids how to behave, I think it’s quite rude for other people to dislike having children go to the movies,” said a 47-year-old homemaker surnamed Song with a 4-year-old son.
Online posts often complain about children’s disruptive behavior at movie theaters and concert halls.
“My child is quite active, so I don’t even try to take him to a concert since he might cause trouble,” said Lee Min-yeong, a 41-year-old homemaker with a son.
Experts say that creating a healthy environment for children to grow in requires mutual understanding and engagement between generations.
“The negative discussion towards children is mostly led by those in their 20s and 30s, who are very sensitive about their cultural needs being distracted. Those who are raising a child, however, don’t understand the younger generation’s high respect for culture,” said Kwak Keum-joo, a psychology professor at Seoul National University.
“There needs to be an effort to understand each other.”
“While our country has become much wealthier than in the past, people are being drained psychologically, all of which is being blamed on vulnerable children,” said Lim Myung-ho, a professor of psychology at Dankook University
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
